KARACHl`S intangible heritage is just as fascinating as its tangible legacy. Those who take a keen interest in knowing and writing about the city`s pluralistic past would be familiar with its historic mosques, temples and churches. But how many of them know that there used to be a Buddhist Association of Karachi? Not many, one suspects. And yes, there was a Buddhist Association House on Somerset Street in the old Karachi vicinity which held a variety of programmes on a regular basis. It is a little hard to fathom why it does not feature in our discussions about the city`s yesteryear glory.

Ignorance is bliss, perhaps.

On May 2, 1966 it was announced that the Buddhist Association of Karachi was preparing to celebrate the vaisakhi pumimato mark the supreme enlightenment of Lord Buddha.

According to the announcement, the celebrations would begin with a symposium organised on Musa Street on May 4 and the puja would be held at the Buddha Association House in the evening the same day. It added that special prayers for theliberation of Kashmir would also be held by the association on the occasion.

So, on May 4, the 2,509th anniversary of the birth of Gautama Buddha was celebrated by the association on its Somerset Street premises. (It would be nice to find out how members of the community were able to ascertain the anniversary`s year.) As per a newspaper report, apart from the symposium, the daylong programme included Buddha puja, pinda dan, kitton, pradip puja and some other rituals. I n case you are wondering where Somerset Street is, well, it is now known as Raja Ghazanfar Ali Road.

This was our Karachi and its magnificent, multicultural populace. They cared for one another respected what they believed in. Not that the city administrators and officials in those days were not caring enough. They were. For example, a comprehensive programme to form public opinion in favour of using wholesome and pasteurised milk at subsidised rates was to be prepared under the Karachi Milk Supply Scheme. This was said by the director of the scheme M. K. Moghal on May 5 in a statement after he returned to the country from a two-month study tour of the Middle East andAfrican countries.

That being said, the one problem that Karachiites never seemed to have found a solution to, even in their less turbulent past, is that of interrupted power supply. On May 7, several parts of PECHS and Federal B Area faced power outage for a few hours. The breakdown in some areas of PECHS was reported at 1pm and electricity was restored at 4pm. Another breakdown was reported from Dastgir Colony, where residents had been without electricity for five hours. One might argue, compared to the loadshedding and the `fault aa gaya phenomena of today, we were better off in the `60s.

In fact, there are people who think that things began to take a different turn in the `60s. It may be a little debatable, but there were indications that Pakistan was heading in a new direction.

For example, on May 6, vice president of the Karachi division Muslim League Dr Habibur Rehman Khan issued a statement in which he criticised Sheikh Mujeebur Rehman`s six-point agenda and called it a cry in the wilderness. He was of the opinion that the East Pakistan leader`s programme represented a drowning man`s last attempt to get hold of something for his survival. No comment.